May 2006
As students
of Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., protest the new leadership of
their college for the deaf, local alumni and other residents say the
dispute symbolizes the larger choices and challenges they face in their
own lives. Gallaudet students have been protesting the selection of the
new president, Worcester native Jane K. Fernandes. Some opponents say
Fernandes is not "deaf enough" -- that she is physically deaf but not a
full supporter of the deaf culture -- while others attribute the protests
to personality clashes and campus politics.
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May 2006
[the
board of trustees' unanimous selection for a new university president, the
current provost Jane] Fernandes, who is hearing impaired, is able to speak
and didn't learn sign language until the age of 23. She did not attend
Gallaudet, and earned a Ph.D. in comparative literature from the
University of Iowa. She also has a husband and children who have no
hearing problems. On this campus, where debates focus on whether there are
enough college employees who are deaf or whether sign language is
emphasized enough over reading lips, Fernandes says some do not consider
her to be "deaf enough. "
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May 2006
Protests
swept I. King Jordan into the presidency of Gallaudet University 18 years
ago. Now, as he prepares to retire, protest once again has erupted on
campus. But it is the differences between the two that are instructive --
instructive about changes in our perceptions of deafness and disability
and about how progress in medical science may shape more change in the
future. This spring, many students, faculty and alumni are objecting to
the trustees' choice of provost Jane K. Fernandes to replace Jordan --
though she, too, is deaf. So what's the problem? "Now," Jordan said, "it's
what kind of deaf person is deaf enough?"
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September
2006
Dozens of
students marched at Gallaudet University yesterday, reigniting the protest
that began last spring when provost Jane K. Fernandes was named
president-designate of the school for the deaf.
Unity for Gallaudet, a coalition that decried the selection process as
flawed and unfair, issued a statement of "indignation" that "voices of
reason and justifiable dissent expressed by the large majority of
Gallaudet University students, faculty, staff and alumni were not heard
and continue to go unheard." Protesters said the guidelines for protests,
issued by outgoing president I. King Jordan this summer, were an attempt
to "control and rule campus by oppression, intimidation and fear."
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October 2006
Last spring, when protesters took their tents down from
Gallaudet University's grounds after graduation, they posted signs: We'll be
back. This week, they once again pitched tents and signs to tell the board
of trustees, meeting tomorrow and Friday, that they're still angry about the
incoming president and the way she was chosen. Some students and faculty
walked out of classes yesterday, demanding that the presidential search be
reopened and that there be no reprisals against protesters.
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October 2006
Protests escalated at Gallaudet University on Friday as
about 200 students blocked access to a campus building in opposition to the
university's choice for president. Students at Gallaudet, a university for
people who are deaf and hard of hearing, claimed that the protests were
marred by rough actions by some of the school's police officers. Video taken
by a student and obtained by The Associated Press show s a campus officer
appearing to push students. Mercy Coogan, spokeswoman for the university,
said, "I saw that same video and I saw it really differently. That one
officer to me was doing his job by asking the students to leave, and the
students looked really confrontational."
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October 2006
Gallaudet University says campus police are working to
restore order after student protesters barricaded themselves inside one of
the main classroom buildings Friday, calling for a review of the
university's presidential selection process. In a statement, the university
says the students are illegally occupying the Hall Memorial Building and
have refused to leave. Students say campus police pushed their way into the
building and have used excessive force. But the university statement says
reports of student injuries are false and no pepper spray has been used.
Full Story
